Crimes of the Soul
by Persianheart
Summary: Twenty five years have gone by, and the original crew who were such good friends haven't seen each other in years.Ryou is happy with his life, until an old foe shows up and ruins it by taking his daughter and forcing him on a life changing journey.LIMES
1. Ryou

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Hocus Pocus (the song at the beginning of each chapter is from that movie) I do own Rina. Thank you for your understanding._

**Crimes of the Soul**

**Part 1: Return**

**Chapter 1: Ryou**

_Come little children I'll take thee away_

_Into a land of enchantment._

_Come, little children the time's come to play_

_Here in my Garden of Shadows…_

Ryou stared out the window, watching the rain streak against the glass. He sighed and looked over his shoulder. Kia was still asleep. She looked so peaceful, her chest rising and falling rhythmically, a small smile on her face. He didn't want to disturb his wife's sleep again.

He turned back to the window and continued to think about the dream. It was inconceivable that he should still be thinking about _him_ after all these years. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes, listening to the soft tapping of the water drops. He shook his head because he knew that it was silly. The thoughts running through his head were nothing more than fabrications of his paranoid imagination. And yet, he thought the thoughts all the same.

When he felt the soft pressure of a hand on his bare shoulder, he turned his head and gazed into Kia's soft blue eyes. He gave her a small smile.

"The dream again?" she asked. Kia knew him so well. He nodded, and watched her eyebrows draw together with concern. "Should I be worried?"

"No. I'm fine."

"Well, you haven't convinced me."

"I didn't think so." He chuckled. Turning completely to face her, he gently grasped the hand from his shoulder and held it. It was good to have her here, even if she couldn't understand. She moved closer to him, pressing up against him and placing her other hand on his other shoulder. A contented sigh escaped her lips as she rested her head on his chest. His chin moved automatically to the top of her head, and he stroked her long black hair as he held her close. But she could tell his mind was wandering. Sixteen years of marriage had told her enough about him to know that sometimes, he just needed to not think about it, whatever 'it' might be. Kia lifted her head to his and kissed him, long and soft. He returned the kiss less gently. Twining her fingers in his long snowy hair, she leaned into him. He guided her by the hips to the bed.

//

"Father, Mother, I'm home!" The girl cried as she came through the door, depositing her backpack in the front hallway of their large apartment.

"Rina," Kia greeted from the kitchen as Rina joined her father in the living room. Kia walked in, wearing an apron. She sat in the chair, taking a break from working on dinner to talk to her daughter. "How was school today?"

"Good." Came the simple reply.

Ryou laughed as his daughter sat beside him on the couch. "Yes, but what happened? Anything exciting?"

"Well," she began, running her fingers through her white hair. Kia reflected often on how much her daughter looked like her father. With the exception of her mother's blue eyes. But this thought was buried by her amusement, for she knew how good her daughter was at telling stories. "Today at lunch some mean guys were picking on Haru."

"Oh no, is he alright?" Kia knew Haru; he had come over to study with Rina a few times before. He was smart, strong, but was kind and preferred getting beat up to hurting his aggressors.

"Mom." She said with mock annoyance.

"Sorry." Kia laughed.

"Anyway, it was those three guys in that gang that have been stirring up trouble at school. The teachers don't really care, so at lunch today they decided that since their lives were worthless as it is, they might as well show everyone else how worthless they were by picking on Haru."

Ryou smiled. His daughter had a very interesting way of expressing things, but it was who she was, and it didn't hurt that it was so entertaining.

"So the first guy, obviously not the leader, comes over to Haru and I and says, 'Hey dork, what you doing with our girl?'" she paused. "Oh! I forgot to mention that they were stupid enough to think they had lain some sort of claim on me even though I had never actually met them before. I still don't even know their names. But anyway, Haru looks around and says, "Well, I don't see any cattle around here, so you must have the wrong person.' The blatant mockery of his stupidity by Haru made him mad, but he wasn't smart enough to fight a battle of wits with him, I'm not sure anyone is, so he turned to his friends. They looked just as dumbstruck as him. However, they did have one element on their side; strength. One of the other guys, who _was_ the leader, immediately told the other two to 'Get him, boys!' Haru stood up and I prepared for him to just stand there and let them kick his butt again. But to my surprise, when the first one took a swing at him, Haru blocked it as easily as if he was solving a geometry problem. In fact, he blocked every move they made to try and hurt him from then on. It turns out that he had been taking self defense classes! Who would have thought Haru could do that?" She crossed her legs and folded her arms as if to say, there, you see?

"Wow," commented Ryou, "He's really growing up."

"Yep. It didn't take long for them to get tired of throwing punches that didn't work at him and they left with some stupid, 'We'll get you next time!' comment." Then she tilted her head and sniffed. "Mmm. Whatever you've got cooking for dinner mom, it smells really good!"

"Thank you, Rina. It's almost ready, will you set the table?"

"Sure!"

Kia smiled as her daughter rushed off, happy to do her chores. She had no idea how that girl could be so happy all the time about everything, but she didn't complain.

//

Rina sighed and leaned back in her chair. She had finally finished her homework. It was past finals, and getting close to the end of the year, so why did the teachers make the workload bigger? Oh well. She pushed away from her desk and packed up her backpack as she checked the time; eleven o'clock. That was late. But thankfully it was Thursday, and no matter how early she had to get up tomorrow morning to make it to the bus- she lived on the far side of town from where her school was- she would be able to catch up on her sleep the coming weekend. She had changed out of her school uniform as soon as possible, and was now wearing her favorite jeans and long sleeved shirt. She cold think better when she was in her normal clothes. Those short skirts they made them wear were just uncomfortable. Not to mention the thigh-high stockings.

As she shoved her homework into her backpack, she felt something that wasn't there before. _Huh? What's this?_ She pulled out a long, skinny silver colored cardboard box. Why would she have this in there? She didn't remember getting it. After a moment, she recognized it as a jewelry box.

Lifting the lid, she gasped at what she found inside. It was only a simple necklace; a gold chain with a matching golden pendent on it. The pendent was shaped like a skinny cone and was only about the length of her middle finger. Someone must have slipped it in there. A secret admirer? Ha! That was a laugh. The only boy who had every paid attention to her in her entire life was Haru, and they were just friends. Besides, this wasn't Haru's style. It was probably meant for Kiki, the prettiest girl in school who sat next to her in math class. She sighed, deciding that she would take it back in the morning and try to find out who had lost it.

Just as she was about to put the lid back on the box, she noticed something. The pendent was glowing.

Ryou woke with a start. What had woken him? He looked around. As he was about to go back to sleep, he heard a crash. Kia awoke, having heard it as well. He told her to stay put and made his way out to the living room, and shivered as he crept through the halls. It was dark and cloudy outside and cold in the apartment. It didn't help that he slept without a shirt on. A burglar must have broken in. he just hoped Rina was alright.

He stayed against the wall, peeking out just enough so that he could see into the dark room. It was too dark to see in detail, but he could see the outline of a figure moving through the dark. He saw the outline of the toppled lamp, obviously unseen by the perpetrator in the dark and had therefore been run into and broken. Lightning flashed, and he saw who was making their way towards the door.

"Rina?" He said stepping into the room. What was she doing up this late? He flipped in the lights. She had her back towards him, and when she heard his voice she turned around.

The color drained from Ryou's face and his stomach dropped as he recognized the cold smirk that crossed his daughter's face. "Not quite." Came the sneering reply.

In his moment of shock, the girl crossed to the door and gave a cruel laugh as she disappeared, closing the door behind her.

Kia came out behind him. "Ryou, are you alright?"

He turned. She had never seen him so afraid in her entire life. His fear quickly turned to determination as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Kia," he began, and she knew where this was going. "Stay here, for your own protection. I'll get her back."

Tears fell from her eyes as she realized that her daughter was gone. She sniffed and nodded. He turned and ran out the door. Kia hoped that she would see them again.

Ryou ran. He ran as fast as he could, not even bothering to take the elevator down to the lobby. He ran out into the night, and as he left the apartment, he saw her form disappear down a side street. He followed as fast as he could, but she was always just ahead enough so that he saw her turn down another street as he turned onto the one he had just seen her go into. Eventually, he turned a corner to see her stopped at the dead end of an alleyway. But she didn't look cornered. She was facing him, that sickening smirk plated on her lips. "Well, I must say, Ryou, that you did surprisingly well for a man of forty. I know many a man who couldn't keep up with a fifteen year old at your age and younger."

"Let her go!"

"What, no 'hello'? It's been a while since we've talked, dear hikari of mine."

"Release her now, Bakura!"

The man possessing his daughter only laughed. "Now why would I do that? I need another hikari."

"In that case, take me! How did you get back? Your soul was destroyed!"

"One thing at a time, please. Now to answer question one, no. I don't need you as my hikari anymore; Rina is much more effective for my plans. As for question two, I got back with this;" She reached down her shirt and pulled out the gold pendent. "a piece of the Millennium Ring!" he laughed at Ryou's shock and horror. "Before you ask, yes the Millennium Items were lost into the darkness. Lost, but not destroyed."

"What?" He jumped as lightning split the sky.

_His_ laugh burst from Ryou's daughter's lips. "I can see that you're still as weak as ever. You'll never be able to stop me."

"Let her go."

"No."

They stood facing each other for a moment. Inner pain was written all over Ryou's face, and Bakura took enjoyment in that. Ryou opened his mouth, but said nothing for a long time, pleading with the look in his eyes. He couldn't take Rina; he had already taken everything else in his life, but not her. Please, not her, not her!

"You know, Ryou," began Bakura, a sinister look crawling onto his daughter's once innocent face, "You have been a good little host, so I'm going to do you a _favor_." He stressed the last word,_ favor_. It dripped through Ryou's ear like poison. "I'm going to let you see your daughter."

In a flash, Ryou was no longer looking through his eyes. He blinked and looked around him. He was in a white expanse, no floor, no walls, no ceiling, just a white nothingness for forever. But he was standing on something. Ryou saw that he was wearing nothing but white pants. No shoes, no shirt. The beating of his heart increased as he recognized this place. He had trod here before, over twenty five long years ago, when this all had begun. He never thought he would return here.

In front of him stood Bakura; not Bakura in his daughter's body, but Bakura. He was dressed similarly to Ryou, and Ryou flinched slightly at the sadistically happy look in this former yami's eyes. But this was no time to be weak. "Where is she Bakura?" He demanded, trying to keep the shake out of his voice. Bakura however was not impressed. He threw back his head and laughed, and the scene before Ryou changed in an instant.

He saw his daughter standing a few yards in front of him. She was dressed in the same white pants as the two men, but with one difference; she was wearing what appeared to be a white strapless swimsuit top. It brought some relief to him as he saw her standing there. She smiled her familiar smile when she saw him, and he smiled back in relief. But before he could ask her if she was alright, before he could even find the words, Bakura appeared behind her, the sinister grin still plastered on his face. Ryou watched in horror as Bakura wrapped an arm around Rina's waist. Rina's smile fell, and her eyes glazed over, as if she was suddenly hypnotized. Bakura took advantage of this and used his free hand to lift her limp arm by the elbow, pressing his lips to the inside of her slightly flexed arm. Ryou felt nauseous at the sight, but shoved the feeling down as he was determined not to let _him _hurt her. He reached out a hand and called her name, trying to wake her out of her stupor. He took a running step forwards only to fall to the floor. He pushed himself onto his knees, looking back to find that his right ankle was encircled by an iron shackle with a chain that faded into oblivion, somehow inhibiting his movement. He knelt with his hands spread in front of him. Dreading his helplessness, he turned his head back to the menacing scene that lay before him. Bakura's lips were now making their way up the side of his daughter's neck. He stopped when he pressed them into the hair falling over her ears, pausing only to throw a sickening smile at his former hikari. Ryou blinked, and the scene changed again. His daughter was now pressed front side against a wide pole, her arms tied hugging the wood. Her face was turned so that she looked at her father. But her eyes were closed, anticipating the pain to come. Bakura stood a few feet behind her, sneering. He produced a long, intimidating white whip. Ryou cried out as Bakura pulled his arm back, than forwards, the end of the leather torturing device sliding through the exposed skin on her back and cutting part way through the swimsuit-like top. Rina bit her lip, obviously in pain but too brave to cry out. Again the whip was pulled back, then forward. A tear escaped from her eye as the whip was brought down on her time after time, leaving her once white skin streaked with red blood, which seeped into the fabric of her top and pants, the red spreading down the back of her legs. Tears fell from Ryou's own eyes as he watched the torture that she was being put through, while he knelt helpless. Again the scene changed, and the torment his daughter had to endure changed. She was chained against a wall several inches from the ground, shackles around her wrists and ankles. Bakura leaned against the wall next to her, then for no specific reason pushed himself off of the wall and went over to Rina. The smile stayed on his face as he began running his hands over her. Again she tried not to scream.

A thousand different visions flashed before Ryou, all of his daughter undergoing different torment at Bakura's hand. He saw his daughter being beaten, raped, abused, and assaulted in ways he didn't even know existed, and when it finally became too much for his soul to take any longer, he closed his eyes and bowed his head. But then the screaming started. Bakura had obviously antagonized her to the point where she couldn't take it anymore either. Rina's voice called to her father, screamed, called again. But above all of this was one constant noise; Bakura's maniacal laugh. The same laugh that Ryou had heard in his nightmares for years, during and after Bakura's possession. He remembered this room, from the first time Bakura had shown his face to Ryou, the first time Ryou realized that all of the strange black outs he'd been having, the disappearances or hospitalizations of people he'd met had been Bakura's doing. He remembered seeing himself in tortuous visions, but those visions had been of things Bakura had done to others, true tortures that he had inflicted upon the innocent. Ryou's mind reeled back and forth between horrors of the past, and horrors of the present. Stop, stop, stop, _stop_!

Rina awoke. She was lying on a bed, that much she knew. But where was she? She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her confusion grew when she realized what she was dressed in; a… swimsuit top? That's not normal…

The confused fifteen year-old looked around. She appeared to be in some kind of bedroom, but something was off. Rina knew she had never been here before, and yet it seemed so familiar, as though she came here every day. The right wall was closer then the left. There were some bookshelves on the wall to her left, and a mirror on the wall to her right. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized she was not alone. At the foot of the bed sat another. She blinked. "Father?"

He turned, and Rina pressed herself backwards against the headboard as she realized that this man only bore a passing resemblance to her father. "Ah, Rina darling. You're awake."

"How… do you know my name?" her eyes narrowed. She was probably kidnapped by some psychopath who had already done who knows what.

"Oh, come now, no 'hello'?" he smirked, and his gaze made her shiver. "You really are your father's daughter, aren't you?"

"Who are you?" her voice was stronger this time, more resolved, but still uncertain.

His smile widened. "I'm Bakura."

This just annoyed her. He was trying to pass as her father. "No you're not. I'm not stupid enough to think that you're my father."

He laughed. "Wrong Bakura."

"What?"

He leaned over to her, pointing to himself. "I'm Yami Bakura." He talked slowly, as if speaking to a five year old, but the smirk on his face said that he did the purely to annoy her. His finger went from pointing to him, to pointing to her. "Your father is Ryou Bakura, and you," he flicked the end of her nose, "are Rina Bakura, his offspring."

She frowned at him, making him laugh. "Well, then, what do you want? And why do you look like my father? And where am I? And-"

"So many questions." He rolled his eyes. "I couldn't possibly answer them all at the same time." His brown irises rested once again on her blue ones.

She let out a puff of air in annoyance. "Fine. Mr. Yami, I-"

"Far too formal." He cut her off with a sneer, then a laugh. "You wouldn't be nearly so nice to me if…" but he stopped.

"What?" she narrowed her eyes. She didn't like this guy. He didn't answer her, but merely put a finger over his own lips and shook his head. Rina bit down on her tongue to get the annoyance out. "Okay. What would you prefer I call you?"

He thought a moment, then the smile crept back onto his face. "Just call me Bakura." Rina wasn't sure about the look that was written over his features now. It seemed like he was enjoying an inside joke, and she was on the outside.

"Alright. Bakura, who are you?"

"Didn't I just answer that question?"

Rina's mouth twitched. He was trying to annoy her, and he took enjoyment in the fact that it was working. She had met these kinds of people before, and all she needed to deal with them was a little self control. She took a deep breath, then made her features overly formal and dull. "Forgive me, and let me rephrase." The corners of his mouth turned down slightly, and she knew it was working. "Do I know you from somewhere, and why do you know me?"

He was outright frowning now. He crossed his arms over his pale chest and answered, the venom of annoyance thick in his voice. "You and I have never officially met, my dear. However, I knew Ryou on an extremely personal level. Your father was my host for five years."

This threw her. "Host?"

He lightened up when he saw the look of shock on her face. "How much has your father told you of his teenage years?"

She thought a moment. "Actually, he's never mentioned anything from before he met mom…"

"Ha, ha! So then you don't know about his… questionable past?" he was taking pleasure in their conversation again. Not a good sign.

"Questionable past?"

He leaned closer to her, now mere inches from her face. Rina noticed that he actually looked about her age, but the way he acted betrayed that he was older. "Do you believe in spirits?"

"Spirits?" Rina was distracted from her thoughts. He just kept throwing out one interesting remark after another. "You mean like ghosts?"

"Similar, but not quite." He laughed. "Well, if you can believe it, I'm a spirit."

"Uh…" skepticism was scrawled all over her features, and this only made his laugh harder.

"You may not believe me now, child, but you will soon."

_I doubt that_ Rina thought.

"You do, do you?"

This startled her. She was absolutely positive that she had said that in her mind. Maybe it had slipped out of her mouth…

"No, you spoke only in your head, I assure you."

"Then how…"

"Well, this is where it gets sort of awkward. Remember how I said your father used to be my host?"

"Yes…"

"You're my new host."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that…" this was unfathomable. What did he mean that she was his host? It sounded like he was a parasite or something.

"Parasite is a little harsh, now." His fake chiding nature returned, the smirk changing into a victorious grin. "I'm in control of you."

Rina was in shock for a moment, not knowing how to respond. She didn't know what to think anymore. Should she believe him? Or was he just some crazy psychopath that thought he was a spirit?

"Hmm. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy to convince you. So I guess we're going to have to do this the hard way." He pushed himself up off the bed and walked over to her. Her heart raced as she thought of what the hard way might be. There were numerous things he could do to her, none of them pleasant. But he only held out a hand. She looked at it, then tightly folder her hands around her knees in defiance. He narrowed his eyes.

Without a second thought he grabbed her wrist and yanked. He didn't look as strong as he was, for now Rina was lying face first on the floor, her right wrist still grasped tightly in his pale fingers. She pushed herself to her feet with her legs and one remaining free arm. He dragged her, ignoring her glare, over to the floor-length mirror. He shoved her in front of it. "What?" she asked in confusion. He rolled his eyes and turned her face towards the shining glass. She gasped.

There was no reflection. Instead she saw what appeared to be another place entirely, like looking through a television set. But it was different, because there was no light being produced from the 'mirror', so it was obviously not a recording of any kind. What made her gasp was not the fact that it was so different, but the vision that filled the glass. Her father was kneeling on the ground, if that's what you could call it. The whole background was white, so there was no distinguishing between floor, wall, and ceiling. His eyes were closed, and his head bowed, but horror filled scene after scene played out in front of him. What disturbed Rina the most was that all of them featured her, being tortured in various indescribable ways, all by the mysterious man, Bakura. She touched the glass, as if trying to reach out to him, to tell him that none of it was real, that they weren't her screams. But it was only a window into wherever this was taking place. He closed her own eyes, and the hand toughing the cool surface balled into a fist. After a moment she turned to Bakura with determination in her eyes. He sneered back at her, but she opened her mouth and made her proposal. It was the only way to save him.

Ryou's mind was whirling, around and around in a never ending cyclone of negative feelings. The screams got louder, and the laughter rose in volume along with it. Just when Ryou thought that it was going to be too much, that he was going to slip over the edge to insanity, it stopped. Just as quickly as it had begun, and maybe even quicker, it halted. His eyes flew open, and again standing In front of him was Bakura, the smirk plated firmly on his features. Sometimes Ryou wondered if that was the only facial expression he had.

"I've made a little deal with my new host." He stated as he walked around Ryou, circling him like a vulture.

"What have you made her promise, Bakura?" Ryou's fear returned as he realized that the visions must have been fake, and that he had her locked up in some portion of his mind.

"Oh, don't fret, little Ryou." Bakura still spoke to him like he was a child, even after twenty five years. "Rina was the one who came to me with her request. I never forced her into anything." He squatted down beside Ryou, pointing in front of Ryou. "Look, there she is now." He stressed the last phrase, his words again became poisonous, viscous, syrupy. But Ryou obeyed, and his eyes rested on his daughter. He got up and strode quickly, covering the distance between them in seconds.

"Rina, are you alright?" His voice was thick with worry as he swept her into a hug.

"I'm fine, father." But her voice shook slightly, and Ryou could tell by her tone where this was going before she even uttered the dreaded words.

"Rina, tell me you didn't…"

She dropped her eyes, evading his accusing gaze. The silent conversation flew between them, and neither of them needed to say anything. They both understood the situation they were in, even if they didn't enjoy it. Finally Ryou sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eye, the sincerity of his tone masking his worry and despair. "Just promise me that you won't let him take you."

Her azure eyes looked back into his earthen ones, and she understood perfectly his meaning. "I promise."

He pulled her into one last hug, and she faded from his arms as he found himself standing back in the alleyway. The entire incident had been in their heads. He swallowed, then shivered as raindrops started sprinkling onto their heads. Bakura in his daughter's body was standing in front of him, but somehow their orientation had been changed so that Ryou was now the one cornered. The smirk on his daughter's features sent a pang of guilt through him. He felt so deeply sorry that he couldn't do anything for her.

Bakura laughed. "You might be able to save her you know."

"What?"

"I'm going to give you the chance to save her, purely because it works out so well for me. It will fit neatly into my little plan. You're going to do a favor for me, Ryou."

"Anything." He spoke before he thought, but there was no time for regretting words spoken against his own safety when his daughter was involved.

Bakura saw the look of immediate regret on his counterpart's face and scoffed. "Don't worry, you won't be alone. We're going to take this one step at a time. Step one; find Yugi Moto."

"Yugi…" He hadn't seen him since the wedding, and that was, what, twenty years ago?

"Yes. I'm sure you two will have so much to talk about. You know, it's almost sad that none of you have kept in touch for twenty years. But, that's none of my concern. I only want you to find him. After you do this one simple thing, then we'll discuss step two." He turned, and Ryou watched his daughter sweep off into the rainy night. He could feel his hair growing wet, the water soaking through and running down the back of his neck. He trembled when he thought not only of the past events, but facing his wife. He sighed and started off towards home, wherever home may be. It would be quite something for him to find his way out of the twisting maze of brick. As he started off, he swore that he heard Bakura's classic laugh echo through the stormy night.


	2. Yugi

**Chapter 2: Yugi**

_Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way,_

_Through all the pain and the sorrows._

_Weep not poor children for life is this way,_

_Murdering beauty and passions._

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.

The cards in his hand hit the top of the counter as he brought his hand down repeatedly. He gazed across the dark room, past the shelves stacked with cards, over the locked glass case that held a few pieces of new technology, and over to the glass of the front door, streaked with rain. He found it sad that this was what the Kame Game Shop had been reduced to after all of these years. Hardly anyone came through the door anymore, and if they did it was only because they had heard the old King of Games lived there. But, why was he complaining? By some measure it had been worse when the tiny shop was overflowing with people who all wanted to say they bought their cards from the infamous Moto Family.

Tap, tap, tap.

He huffed out a sigh, lay down the cards in his hand, and pushed himself away from the register. Why was he even standing there, anyway? The shop had been closed for hours now. He shook his head, his tri colored hair swishing through the cold air of the room. Sleep was all he needed, that was all. It hadn't come to him for the past few days, though he wasn't sure why. It wasn't like he'd had an unusual dream or had a stressful week. Every time he lay down in bed, his eyes would stay wide open and fixed on the ceiling.

As he passed a though the hallway, he stopped out of routine. Every night he would stop in the same place on the stairs and look to his right at the picture that was there. It was one of the only things in the house that was cleaned on a regular basis. A smile crossed Yugi's face as he gazed at the picture of his family. It was from a time when they were all so happy. That was, what, ten years ago? Eleven?

Warmth was in his heart as he climbed the rest of the stairs to the bedroom above. He had always been one to dwell on the happiness of it all, rather than the sadness with which it all ended.

The brass doorknob was cool beneath his hands as he grasped it lightly, than twisted it. The door opened with the slightest push.

"Well, well, well," Yugi froze when he heard the voice inside. He squinted into the dark, but all he could make out was a figure on his bed. "Took you long enough, now didn't it?"

It was a female voice that much he could tell. But he didn't recognize it.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, man. Turn on the light."

He did as he was told, for there was not much else he could do. Yugi squinted and blinked as the room became bright, and his eyes hurt for a moment because they were used to the darkness of down stairs. When they adjusted after a moment, he saw who was in the room. A girl around the age of fifteen or sixteen was strewn lazily across his bed. She wore blue jeans and a horizontally striped blue and white shirt that was cut below her breasts so that her midriff was exposed, adding to the paleness of her complexion. A golden pendent shaped like an upside down cone hung around her neck, and it seemed oddly familiar to Yugi. Her hair was snow white, and her eyes an azure blue. Yugi blushed a little when he noticed her, but something was off. The girl wasn't lying in a seductive manor as he expected of anyone lying on someone else's bed; rather the opposite. She was sprawled on the bed as if she were a guy, her arms behind her head. She looked familiar somehow, but most of all she reminded him of Ryou Bakura.

That was it! This must be his daughter! Boy, she got older. The last time he saw her she was only a baby. What was her name? Raya? Roxy? R-

"Rina!" He exclaimed, remembering her name.

She smirked. "Close, Yugi, very close."

Maybe he hadn't remembered her name. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's been such a long time. You're Ryou's daughter, right?"

"I suppose, in a sense."

"Um…"

She sighed. "Ah, Yugi. Even after all of these years it still takes so long for you to catch on." Smirking, she sat up, her arms propping her up. "Yes, this is Rina," She leaned on her right hand and swept the left one through the air, gesturing to her body. "but not _this_." She tapped a finger to her temple. "_This _is someone else."

"Who…?"

"I bet you can guess. Let's see, what clue to give? I Know!" Mock excitement filled her voice. "I was also very close to Ryou, but we weren't related."

Yugi thought. Who had been close to Ryou? I mean, he had been Yugi's friends, but not like Tristan and Joey. He hadn't known anyone who was like a best friend to Ryou.

"I'll give you another hint. We played games a lot together, you and me."

That could apply to almost anyone.

"Alright, then, the final clue." Her mouth twisted up into an evil looking grin. "I was a spirit, just like Atem."

Yugi's heart quickened and his eyes became wide as saucers. "Bakura…"

"Correct! You win the prize!" She laughed. Or, _he_ laughed.

"What… How…?"

"Form a complete sentence."

"How did you get back? Atem destroyed you, I saw it happen!"

"When are you people going to learn that you can't win? You might as well accept defeat now."

"Never, Bakura!"

Rina's eyes rolled, exasperated, probably not of the teenager's will, and sat cross legged, drawing herself up straight. Yugi noticed what was now clasped in her thin pale fingers, what he could have sworn was on the bedside table a moment ago. The picture of his family, an exact replica of the one in the stairwell. "This really is a cute little family. I would hate for anything to happen to them." Her teeth were exposed by the next dark grin that crossed her face.

"Bakura, this is between you and me! Leave them out of this!"

"Funny, Ryou said something similar to that when I 'talked' to him about borrowing his daughter. And here we are…" He trailed off, implying how well that had worked out. "What's this one's name again? Hiroto?" Pleasure crossed her face at the horror that filled Yugi. He really was an open book. "Then this one must be Otogi."

"Don't touch them, Bakura." His attempt at sounding tough. Bakura had to admit that he was slightly more intimidating now that his voice was deeper and he was a few inches taller. He was as tall as the fifteen year old girl now. What a laugh!

"Alright, on once condition."

Yugi was taken aback. He hadn't thought it would be that easy. "What?" He stated cautiously.

She got off the bed and came to stand in front of him. She began circling him, as a lion circles its prey. "Ryou is coming here. In fact, he should be here any minute now. When he arrives, you will tell him everything that has happened between us, and then proceed to tell him that both of you _will_ be at the Domino City Central Park in six days, or else… well, I'm sure you know." Both of them cast their eyes upon the picture that had been left on the bed. As the final circle around Yugi was completed, Bakura went to the door behind his nemesis. "Don't be late." And with that last remark, he slipped into the hall, throwing on a long black trench coat that he had deposited by the door earlier. Yugi turned, and could swear that it was the same coat he had used over two decades ago.

Almost the moment the girl disappeared into the blackness, the shop's doorbell rang downstairs.

//

"So, what now?"

Yugi got no reply from Ryou. He had gotten the man a blanket and some hot coffee, for the man's hair had been completely drenched from the rain outside. He was absorbed in his drink, watching the dark liquid swirl around idly, steam twirl off the top of the brown fluid. Yugi blinked, waited a moment, than spoke.

"Ryou?"

"Hmm?" he looked up, and Yugi saw his face in the strange light. The low beams of the lamp accented the age of his face, making him appear ten years older. The circles under his eyes betrayed a night without sleep. Yugi felt sorry for his once good friend, and on some level could understand what he was going through. Years of being controlled and manipulated had shattered both of their innocence. He remembered how scary it was when he had black outs in his own memory, but as soon as he had learned of his other half being the good guy, the fear had gone. It hadn't been the same for Ryou. He had been possessed by evil, forced to watch his own body go through horrifying events. Instead of watching his other half claim victory for righteousness, he had woken up in strange places, often wearing clothes he didn't remember putting on, in some cases a weapon lay somewhere close by; a bloody knife or recently fired gun. It made Yugi almost guilty that he had gotten the better end of the deal.

He put a hand on the worn man's shoulder. "Ryou, are you alright?"

"I don't know anymore."

They sat in silence for a long time, contemplating. Yugi contemplated Ryou, and his hard life. Why did someone who had once been so pure deserve this?

Ryou, on the other hand thought only of Rina. What was Bakura doing to her now? Was he beating her, molesting her? He shivered, despite the heavy and warm blanket he now wore. One thing that crossed his mind was the question of what her soul room might contain. Ryou's own soul room contained a few tables, a reclining chair, and a floor length mirror. He remembered how Bakura used to force him to sit on the floor while he sat in the chair and controlled his body, simply by staring through the mirror. Ryou flinched at the memory of the one time when he had broken Bakura's concentration. The punishment hadn't been pretty. Praying that his daughter wouldn't make that mistake by accident, Ryou pulled the blanket around him tighter.

//

Daytime was not the prime time for moving from place to place in secret, but he had to get across town by that night. Besides, the girl's body could get the sleep it needed when they got there. Rina rubbed her eyes as she sat on the bed in what Bakura had explained was her soul room. Although Bakura could operate all night and still continue at a fast pace without feeling the effects, Rina felt the weight on her body of not getting any sleep at all.

"Don't they have sleep in whatever spirit place you come from?" She asked with a yawn.

His mouth turned down at the corners. Thankfully walking took little concentration and he was able to have this conversation on the side. "Actually, I'm from ancient Egypt."

"Wow, really?"

"Yes, _really_."

Rina could see that he was concentrating on whatever was going on in his head, so she shut her mouth and just looked at him, lost in her own thoughts. He was facing away from her, standing by the mirror to the right. It seemed to her that it was by looking through it that one could control her body. She didn't want to ask, however, since Bakura was obviously in a bad mood.

Sighing, she looked out across the room to the left, examining the shelves that seemed to be there. Since she wasn't getting any rest, she slid off the bed and over to the suspicious looking furniture. There were two bookcases side by side, one black, and one white. But it contained no novels, no volumes of literature that one would usually find on bookshelves such as these. No, they held objects. Rina wondered as to the meaning of such things and trinkets as the ones she saw stacked on the shelves before her. Bakura probably knew, but Rina was sure that he wouldn't appreciate her conversation at this time, so she just slid back on the bed and tried to rest, though she knew that it was futile attempt because she had been trying to do that all day. Rolling over, she gazed past Bakura to the city scenery that passed by on the mirror's surface.

Day turned to dusk, and dusk became night. Still Bakura continued at the brisk, determined pace that he had been walking at for almost an entire twenty four hours now. And Rina continued to stare blankly at the buildings and alleyways that they passed, all of them beginning to blur together into a repetitive scene from gazing at similar surroundings for hours on end.

But something ahead suddenly caught her eye. She sat bolt upright, pushing her fatigue out of the way as she realized with a sinking feeling that she recognized the figures ahead. Painted onto the mirror was a common street scene; four gangster looking guys standing in an ally smoking. The kind of boys you didn't want to mess with. And it got worse, because she knew them. They were the boys from school who thought they had some sort of claim over her.

"Bakura, wait!" She jumped off the bed and ran to his side.

"What?" his head snapped to her, anger plain on his face. It startled her so much that she had to pull herself together before she could speak.

"I, um,"

"What? Spit it out!"

She took a deep breath. "I know those boys. It's hard to explain, but all you need to know right now is that if they see me walking down the street alone at night in…" She swallowed, not wanting to offend Bakura, but she had to make the obvious statement about her clothes, "in the kind of clothes that you've put me in… they'll…" She trailed off, not able to say what they would do, for she didn't know the specifics. She just knew that it wouldn't be good.

His anger changed to shock for a split second, then to a smirk. "Oh please. They wouldn't dare to mess with me. I'll eat their souls."

"Yes, but, they don't know that! And you're in _my_ body! I don't exactly look like a threat to four hardened street punks who probably have weapons, unlike us!"

She waited for him to say something, anything, hopefully the answer she wanted to hear. But he didn't answer her in the way she thought.

He laughed. Actually laughed; a hard, cold, hysterical laugh. He pushed her gently into a sitting position on the floor. "Just watch."

The group of boys was surprised to say the least when they saw a girl from their school walking towards them. But they were too caught up in their hormones to notice the sadistic look in her eyes as she strode confidently past them, wearing a somewhat skimpy outfit, as it showed off her midriff quite nicely. One of the boys put a hand on her shoulder to stop her as she passed.

Rina watched in a dazed amazement as the man controlling her body spun around, grabbed the boy's hand and broke his fingers in one move with a sickening snap. The boy screamed in pain and stumbled back, cradling his now ruined hand as the fingers turned a bruised and broken purplish black that was visible even in the low light of the street lamp. The girl whose body it rightfully was gasped at what Bakura had just made her do. As far as she was concerned, she was as responsible for hurting that boy as Bakura was, seeing as it was her body.

"Touch me again, and you mortals shall rue the day you ever met me."

The boys were frightened by the tone of her voice, though they would never show it. When they had approached her the other day at school, she wasn't nearly as threatening. And they were confused by the way she said 'mortals', as if she wasn't one. Maybe she was just crazy… or maybe not…

In their moment of indecision, the leader stepped up to snap them out of it; he wasn't about to be beaten by a girl. "What are you idiots waiting for? Get her!"

The two who weren't injured stepped forewords and threw a few punches at the girl, but she blocked them easily and skillfully. As they became more annoyed that their attacks weren't working, they began punching and kicking harder and harder. Finally one of them got fed up and threw all of his might into one punch, letting out a yell as he did so. But instead of blocking like he expected her to, she dodged out of the way, pulling his gun out of the holster as he fell. Bakura now had a weapon.

With less than a moment's thought, she pointed the barrel of the automatic pistol at the boy who had just fallen to the ground. He froze when the cool metal of the pistol touched the back of his head, brushing against his short black hair. The boy was scared; he didn't want to die. But Bakura had other plans. Rina's body's slim index finger rested on the trigger, before it paused, as if trying to decide if it should really end this boy's life. The pause was almost as if Rina had for one moment regained control, and was trying to stop Bakura.

But Bakura pulled the trigger anyway.

Crimson blood washed over the boy's head, over the rough short black hair, over the smooth white skin of his neck and face, and pooled on the concrete, lit eerily by the street light above. In her soul room Rina gasped, her hand flying to her face as tears threatened to leak out. But she couldn't let Bakura see her cry. As her innocence drained away as quickly as the boy's blood, she tried to keep herself under control.

A horrifying laugh tore through the silence of the scene. The boy's friends and gang mates had been just as horrified to see him shot, and a shudder went through the group as the girl's maniacal laugh ripped the night to shreds. One of the boys filled with revenge and rage at the carefree attitude of this intruder. He went for the girl, not thinking as to what could happen to him as well. He let out a cry in anger and despair, which was cut off with a bang as Bakura wasted no time in pulling the trigger yet again, sending another waterfall of blood across the streets. The third, the one with the injured hand, tried to run away. Instead of using a bullet, he broke his leg with a swift kick, followed by a crunch, as he passed.

The fourth one took out a knife, resolving to fight for his life. But that worked as well as the first two, and soon he was lying face down on the sidewalk as a light rain began to fall. The girl shook her head, and Bakura spit one word through Rina's lips with a chuckle. "Fools."

Just then, he heard a cry of pain from behind him. He turned to see the final boy, who had tried to run earlier, was flipped over on his back, clearly not dead but severely hurt. His fearful eyes grew wider as he saw an evil smirk play across her features. She took an ominous step towards him. "P-please." The boy whimpered. The girl put her foot on his chest and pointed her weapon at him. She was about to pull the trigger, when she stopped.

"Wait," sneered Bakura from inside Rina's soul room. He turned to the girl who was sitting at his side, her eyes glued to the scene in the mirror as a single tear escaped from her wet eyes that shone like glass. He grabbed her by the arm and hauled her up in front of the mirror. "You do it."

"What? N-no!" she protested as she could feel herself gaining partial control.

"You have to."

"No!"

While the two were arguing inside Rina's head, the boy waited in silence as his doom loomed closer and closer, the rain falling heavier from the sky. He took in what he presumed to be his last view of the world. He started shaking, not just because he was cold and wet, or because of the enormous pain he was in, but because he knew. He knew she would pull the trigger. He knew he would die.

Exasperated with Rina's refusal, Bakura finally took back control; partially. Both he and the girl stood in front of the mirror, Rina in front and Bakura behind. He held one of her wrists to her side in his steel grip. He pulled her other arm up into a shooting position, and she could _feel_ the gun in her hand now. She could feel the cold metal that was slightly warmer near the barrel because it had just been recently fired. She looked into the boy's eyes, and for a moment he thought he could see the change in character. But it could have just been a trick of the rainy night. Bakura wrapped his fingers around Rina's and guided her hand to the trigger, resting his fingers on top of hers.

The rainy night was stained with blood, as Rina was forced to pull the trigger.


	3. Marik

**Chapter 3: Marik**

_Hush now Dear Children it must be this way,_

_To weary of life and deceptions._

_Rest now my children for soon we'll away_

_Into the calm and the quiet._

The door opened and shut, like it did every day. He crossed the room and sat down at his desk, like he did every day. He turned on the lamp to study by, like he did…

_Oh, this life is so boring._ He thought as he ran a hand through his hair. Marik Ishtar had been working at the Tri-Omino City Museum for fifteen years, and not a day went by that he didn't regret it. In fact, he'd come to hate it.

His gaze turned to the only picture he kept on his desk in the tiny apartment where he lived. It was a small picture that fit in one of his hands. It was slightly faded, and had three figures standing together in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. A sad smile came over Marik's lips as he looked at his only family, Ishizu, Odion, and himself, smiling and posing for the picture. The smile turned to a frown as he stroked the wooden frame and remembered that that was the last picture his family had ever taken together.

He closed his eyes tightly and slammed the picture down on the table. "No, I won't think about it." he growled aloud, as if it would somehow keep the troubling thoughts from his mind. He balled up a fist and slammed it into the table beside the picture. "I won't!"

"Won't what?"

Marik's eyes flew open. He stood and spun around in one fluid movement, his eyes fixating on the owner of the voice he knew so well, the voice he had tried so hard to forget. "Bakura…" he whispered in amazement, fear, shock, and hate.

Before him stood Bakura, arms folded across his chest, and that same sadistic smirk on his face. Marik tried to deny what he was seeing but the figure in front of him was unmistakably Bakura, from his flowing black cloak right down to his snow pale hair. But there was one fact that Marik couldn't overlook; Bakura was faded. Not in an unfamiliar way, however. He remembered looking like that himself so many years ago in Battle City when his darker half and Bakura had-

No! He mustn't think of it. No matter what, he couldn't let himself remember.

He shook his head to clear his mind and asked, nervously, "What do you want?"

"No hello? For being 'good' you people really need to learn your manners." He sighed in mock sadness, "I haven't gotten a single hello, no matter where I've gone."

Marik sighed in annoyance and looked away, forcing his eyes to rest anywhere but _him_ "Well, maybe that's because you're not welcome."

"Ouch, that one _really_ hurt, Marik." He laughed, and Marik was covered in a chill at the familiar sadistic tone.

"Shut up."

"Fine."

Marik wasn't expecting that. He looked back to Bakura, whose smile had changed into and unreadable neutral expression. They stood like that, for the longest time, before Marik could no longer contain his curiosity. "So, how did you get back without a body?"

"Ah, but I do have a body. She's lying on your couch." He gestured behind him to the couch, which was turned away from the two men. Marik could now see that shoes and been deposited on the floor beside one of the arms of the sofa.

"Wait, _she_?" The only answer he got to his question was another round of laughter, so Marik went to see for himself.

He rounded the arm on the couch where the girl's feet were lying. She was lying on her back, sleeping. Marik noticed the clothes the girl was wearing looked like the feminine version of what Bakura had once worn. She sported a full head of long white hair, and as he noticed the striking resemblance to Ryou Bakura, he couldn't help but wonder who she was. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her, namely, her chest. He gulped and blushed as he came to his scenes and averted his eyes to the wall. But this was the least of his problems, for Bakura had noticed.

"Ah," Bakura hissed, his voice dripping with venom. He could practically _smell _Marik's weakness. "It's been a while since you've seen a woman, hasn't it?"

"N-no!" he stuttered hurriedly.

"Colleagues don't count, Marik. Honestly, what kind of _real_ woman works in a rundown museum on the outskirts of a second rate city?"

Marik said nothing, because he knew Bakura was right. He hadn't even been on a date in years, let alone with someone who was worthwhile.

"How did it get to be this way, Marik?" Although Bakura knew very well how it had happened, he continued to ask the piercing, meaningless questions that only sparked sorrow in Marik. "How did a man like you end up in a tiny insignificant city, if you could call it a city, only a few miles from Domino? Didn't your family help you out?" Marik cringed at the painful memories that were rushing into his head. "Your family didn't help you, did they? No, they left the first chance they got. Ishizu ran off with her 'love' Seto Kaiba. He probably has enough money to buy you a nice place to live and a good job multiple times over, and all Ishizu had to do was ask. But no, you never heard from her again, isn't that right? And Odion? He just left. I bet you didn't even see it coming. You shared a house for a while, trying to pretend that you were still some happy family. But one day, you came home and he was gone." He lowered his voice to a whispering hiss, "Like he was never even there at all." Marik didn't respond, just stared with unfixed eyes at the wall before him, lost in visions of other times; painful times, times he lost everything he had in a day and then some. "Sure, you tried to pick up the pieces. I know you, Marik. I remember you always found comfort in women. I know how you cope. You find a nice girl with a good body and just get lost for a night or two. But, this is so short lived." He scoffed out the next phrase. "I bet you haven't slept with a woman in years."

Marik awoke from his stupor, flung around to face the spiteful spirit, and punched him. But in his fit of rage Marik forget that Bakura was indeed transparent, and ended up falling on the floor with a thud. He rolled over onto his back slowly, groaning in pain as he did so. Bakura walked over to him slowly and knelt down by his head nonchalantly.

"You haven't been able to live with yourself for almost twenty years now, have you? Why is that Marik? Is it because you're still haunted by what you did as a teenager? Is it because your family left you all alone, like when you were a child? It's time to face facts, Marik. You may be forty years old but your still just some kid lost in a dark tomb, crying out for help to a family who won't do anything for you."

"Stop…" Marik closed his eyes and almost pleaded.

"That's why you're having problems coping, isn't it? Because you've always had someone there for you and now you're alone."

"Stop." His voice grew a little in strength.

"That's it, isn't it?"

"Stop."

"Isn't it?"

"Stop!"

"Answer me! Isn't it?"

"Stop, stop, stop!" he jumped off the floor and tried to take another swing, but instead of falling again he simply stumbled and caught himself. He was breathing heavily as he stood up straight.

Bakura was silent for a moment, but only a moment, before the sinister smirk crept back onto his features. "Or, does it have something to do with the fact that you haven't slept with someone in years?" Marik's breath caught in his throat and Bakura knew he had hit a weaker point than his family. "Come on, Marik, there's nothing to be ashamed of! All men have certain… desires… a…need… to lie with a woman. And when that need isn't fulfilled, well…" he paused, "They snap."

Again Marik was silent, trying to figure out where Bakura was going with this.

"Marik, I know you. You wouldn't stoop to hire a prostitute. A woman who's lain with so many others? And the risk of all those nasty diseases? No! Definitely not for you." His smirk widened into a toothy, evil grin as he made his catch. "What if I could offer you better?"

Marik looked up into Bakura's eyes, narrowing his own. "What are you saying?"

Bakura pointed to the sleeping girl on the couch. "This girl's my host. She's a tired little thing, so she won't be waking up anytime soon for anything. And, the deal gets better. She's a virgin." Marik's eyes widened. "Yep, completely clean. And I'm offering you one night with her, free of charge. Well, almost, but we'll discuss that later." Bakura dropped the subject of payment when he saw that he was losing Marik.

To Marik, the idea was…tempting. After all, he hadn't slept with anyone in a long time, and if what Bakura was saying were true, then he had no need to worry about STD's. And yet…

It didn't seem right to him. The moralities that he had been raised with said that taking someone while they were asleep was wrong at best. No, not just wrong, unforgivable!

But she won't know, and she won't care! Argued the other side of his brain.

"I…just…don't know…" he said hesitantly as he gazed at the peaceful girl in front of him.

"Come on, do it." Bakura pushed him.

"Well…"

Do it! Said his inner voice, almost excitedly.

"Alright." He moved towards the girl, but stopped and looked back at the half visible man next to him. "Do you mind?"

"Of course, where are my manors?" Bakura dissolved into the darkness with the final words of mock chivalry.

Marik looked again at the girl and, before he could argue against it again, climbed on top of her. She seemed not to notice as she continued to sleep soundly. He let himself lay on her and began kissing her neck and shoulders. When she still didn't respond, he moved to her lips.

Rina awoke, quite scared and with an unfamiliar man lying on her. Instinctively her hands moved to his chest to push him off, but then she heard his voice in her mind. _I wouldn't do that Rina. I promised Marik a good time and you're going to give it to him. Unless, you want to commit murder again. Your choice._ Bakura's voice echoed menacingly through her head. Her mind was filled with visions of blood and guns from the previous night. Rina stiffened, trying to decide what to do as the strange man moved his lips to her neck. She took a deep breath, because she was scared. Her father had always told her to take deep breaths of air when she was scared. _'It helps you think, and realize that sometimes what you're afraid of isn't really scary at all!'_ her father used to say when she was little, mostly when she had a bad dream or when a big storm hit. _'But it really is scary father!_' she would argue back. _'Then the deep breath will help you be brave.'_

She followed her father's advice, as she lay there so many years later, at the complete mercy of a stranger. _Be brave, Rina. Just like father said._ She told herself. Inhaling one such breath, Rina tried to face the night before her, holding back the tears that threatened to flow.

Marik noticed that the girl was awake, even amidst his fever of lust he noticed. He pulled back to get a good look at her, and noticed something that made him forget what he was doing completely. He looked into her eyes, her amazingly expressive blue eyes, and saw something he had not seen in decades. He saw the initial fear of being assaulted, but then he saw her eyes harden a little. Not in the way that a bitter or angry person's eyes would harden, but in the way that hero's eyes would harden. Her eyes were those of someone who faced an impossible task and faced it head on anyway.

Her eyes met his, for previously she had been looking away, staring into a memory that Marik could never possibly know or understand. And when her eyes met his, he saw her in a new light. In those eyes he saw himself. Not just because her eyes were so wet and glassy from holding back tears that he could literally see his reflection, but he saw an emotion he recognized. He used to look the same way when he was determined in anything he was doing, and knew he could not win.

The realization of what he had been about to do hit Marik hit full force, and he pulled back from her quickly. He looked at her a moment more, staring in disbelief when he realized just how young she really was, and then left in a daze for some other room in the apartment. Rina sat up and watched him leave, than when she was sure he was gone, she let herself cry.

//

Joey wheeler shook his head as he stepped out of the shower, droplets of water flying across the bathroom. He dried himself off and put on a clean pair of sweat pants that he used as pajamas. He stepped out of the bathroom and shivered. Passing from the warm humidity of the bathroom to the cool night air of the bedroom really gave him a chill. Sighing, he went downstairs, smiling as he went.

"Hiya honey! Have a nice shower?" his wife laughed as she greeted him.

He kissed her forehead as he passed. "Sure, Mai, sure." He wrapped his arms around her, looking into her vibrant violet eyes. He remembered a time when he would have given anything to look into her eyes again.

It had taken him seven years of chasing to find those vibrant violet eyes again. And once he had, he never looked back. The first chance they got they had settled down here in New York. And now they had, in Joy's opinion, everything. Including two beautiful daughters. He couldn't be happier, and neither could Mai. She had always worried that settling down would ruin her spirit for adventure, but when you lived in America, not to mention New York City, every day was an adventure! She loved it as much as Joey did.

"I got you something." She whispered up at him.

Joey smiled. "And what might that be?"

She leaned closer to whisper in his ear gently. "The mail." She laughed and pulled away to go get her 'gift.'

"Thanks." He muttered as she came back with it. He sat down on the sofa, the stack of envelopes in his hands. Mai sat next to him as he went through them, and he smiled when she leaned against him. _Oh, screw It,_ he thought as she ran her fingers through his hair. He was about to throw the papers down and pull her into a passionate kiss when one of the addresses caught his eye. Lifting the envelope, he read the return address. It was from Japan.

He opened it immediately and read the letter inside. Mai started worrying when his eyes widened. "What is it?" she asked.

A sobered expression filled his features as he pulled out what else was in the envelope. There was a picture in it, and Mai nearly fainted when she saw what it was of. On it, she saw her two daughters standing at the bus stop to come home from school, smiling and laughing like nothing was abnormal. How did the sender of the letter get that picture if they were in Japan? She was afraid for her daughters now, but what scared her most was not the picture, but what was written in messy handwriting on the bottom of the image; _Come or Else_.

Mai looked at her husband. "What do we do?"

"The only thing we can." He replied sadly. "Hire a sitter for the girls, we're going to Japan."

//

Hours passed, but Marik could not sleep. He tried desperately to slip into the peacefulness of slumber, but his mind wandered away from the bed he was now in to the other room, where he was sure the girl was still. The weight of his guilt was so heavy; it was as if his own feelings were trying to grind him into nothing, so that he didn't have to face what he had done anymore. But he knew from his past mistakes that it would not just go away. Letting out a loud puff of a sigh, he pulled himself out of bed and went to the door.

Rina had stopped crying hours ago. She wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been in the house, and she knew the smart thing to do was most likely to get as far away from the stranger as possible, but something in her was holding her back. She didn't know if it was Bakura, or some misdirected sense of her own morals, but she heeded the feeling nonetheless. At the moment, she was looking at the only interesting thing in the small apartment; a picture. The man was in it, as well as two others. Rina guessed that they were related to the stranger, but it was hard to tell, not only because of the thick layer of dust that covered the photo, but because they didn't look alike. Especially not the other man with the tattooed face. Who were they, and what was their connection with the man?

She heard the door open and her head flew around to see the Man come hesitantly into the room. She gazed at him, scared at first, but since their first encounter her eyes had adjusted to the dim light on one lamp, and she could see the single most prevalent emotion thick on his face. As much as she thought it improbable, the man was most definitely guilty. She could almost taste the embarrassment coming from him. It made her feel more comfortable somehow, though she didn't know why.

After an awkward moment in silence, Marik cleared his throat. "Um…" Where did he begin? What was he supposed to say? 'Sorry for almost raping you' didn't sound right. He swallowed hard. "Is…there…um…anything I can get you?" _Stupid, stupid! What are you thinking?_ He mentally scolded himself.

To his surprise, she smiled. Not even a little understanding smile, but a genuine smile lit up her face. She even laughed a little. "Well, I am kind of thirsty…Would it be too much to ask for some water?" She said, her smile passing and turning into concern.

"No, of course not." He sighed in relief as he went to the kitchen to get them some water. As he opened the fridge and poured out a glass, he couldn't help but think about how utterly cute the girl was. She was almost like a child. And yet, he could see the wisdom and sadness behind her eyes that most likely came from being held hostage in her own body by an ancient spirit.

When he came back into the room she was seated on the couch. She turned around and acknowledged him as he entered with two glasses of clear liquid, one for her and one for him. She thanked him for the glass as he handed it to her when he sat down. She drank thirstily, as if she hadn't gotten water in days. They sat in silence for a while, than Marik could take it no more and spoke up awkwardly. "So, um…" she looked at him expectantly. "I'm Marik, Marik Ishtar."

"I'm Rina Bakura. Nice to meet you, I guess." She rolled her eyes, as if to acknowledge what had happened when she had actually first met him. He was astonished that she seemed to pass it off as nothing, but was distracted by her name.

"Rina _Bakura?_" he asked. "As in Ryou Bakura?"

"Yes, he's my father." Her eyes lit up. "You know him? How? Were you friends?"

"Um, yes, I knew him." Marik was a little shaken by the on slot of questions. "Well, only a little. I'm not sure you could consider us good friends, but I spent some time with him when we were growing up. I met him when I was," He paused a minute to rethink his answer, for he had just about said when he had met Yami Bakura, and after all they were two completely different people. "Oh, seventeen or so. I believe it was just after Battle City."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. Dad never really talks about when he was a teen…" She was silent for a moment, thinking. Then she perked up and asked, "What was Battle City?"

And so, Marik told her all about the tournament, and he was surprised with how easily the past flowed out of him now. Over the years, he had found remembering his past actions on Battle City harder and harder to deal with. Though his actions had been influenced by the evil spirit which he did not know dwelled inside him, he still felt responsible. As years turned to decades, he tried as hard as he could to burry those memories and start anew. But when Rina had asked him about it, he found that recalling the past hadn't been in the least bit painful, even the parts about his darker half, which he told her of. He told her everything, about Kaiba and the Tournament, about Yugi Moto and his friends, about himself and his goals, even about her father and Yami Bakura and, touchy as the subject may have been, she didn't seem to mind. She listened attentively, soaking in the information like a sponge, and only asking the occasional question. By the time he had gotten to telling her about the start of the Battle City Finals, she was growing tired and had yawned a few times.

"I think, we should finish this story another time." He eventually decided when her eyes started to flutter closed.

"Mhmm." She agreed sleepily. She curled up sideways on the couch, but Marik insisted that she take the bed. She refused, however, saying that she would most likely be gone in the morning and that if she took the bed she would just wake him up walking out the door. After some light arguing, he finally agreed and got her a blanket and an extra pillow. He turned to go, but stopped when he heard her speak to him again. "Oh, Marik." She yawned.

"Yes Rina?"

"Bakura *yawn* wanted me to tell you to go to the Domino City Central *yawn* park in three days at noon."

Marik wasn't sure about that, but, since it was Bakura, he would go. Before he turned to go, he asked one final thing. "Oh, Rina."

"Mmm?"

"I know this is a little unorthodox, but, how old are you?"

She smiled sleepily, her eyes closed. "Fifteen." Marik balked. She _was_ young! "You?"

"Forty." He answered, quickly. If she had been awake, Rina would have caught the nervousness in his voice. But as it was, she was asleep by the time he had gently closed the door between her and his bedroom.

When Marik awoke late the next morning, it came as little surprise to him that Bakura and Rina were gone.


	4. Seto

**Chapter 4: Seto**

_Come little children the time's drawing near,_

_Look how the night is waning._

_Come little children right with me tonight_

_It's not a night for abstaining._

Her fingers ran through her black silken hair as she gazed out the window into the clear moonlit night. Shivering slightly, she drew the floor length silk robe around her tightly, re-tying the matching silk belt at her waist. It was late, and he should be home by now. She shook her head. It must have been a long day at the office. She just hoped something hadn't gone horribly wrong.

She twisted her head around when she heard the commotion outside. It had to be coming from down stairs, but she was still able to hear it up in the master bedroom, even if she was on the second floor. It must have been a rough night. Usually he didn't yell so loudly. Normally he just blew by the many servants in the mansion and went straight upstairs, many times without eating dinner. Sighing, she turned her head back to the beautiful calm and clear of the garden draped in darkness that she could see through the glass. Trying to focus on the tranquility of the scene, she prepared for the inevitable.

He burst through the door, slamming it shut behind him. Her head twisted again as she acknowledged his presence in the room without inviting him to turn his anger on her, though he rarely did. Apparently he had gotten all of his yelling out down stairs with the tenders of the household and was now in a fit of silent fury. He crossed the room swiftly and dropped into the comfortable leather chair that was positioned just so that he could fall into it whenever he needed to. Not daring to make a sound, she waited a few moments to let his rage simmer, than crossed the room to where he was sitting. The back of the chair was turned towards the window, and she sighed to inform him of her approach. Her hands slid over the fabric of the white collared shirt on his shoulders. His right hand flew up and swiftly loosened the black tie, then yanked open the top button at the neck of the shirt. She knew how much he hated work clothes, but they were required to look presentable in big business.

"Bad day?" she asked gently. She got no reply. She waited a moment, then spoke again, trying to drive the troubled thoughts from his head. "Seto?"

"What?" The reply was cold, but Ishizu had learned from years of experience and she knew by now that the harshness of the question wasn't directed at her. She also knew better then to try and start conversation when he was in one of his moods. Instead, she turned to a tactic that almost always worked.

She made her way around to the front of the chair. He didn't look at her; his eyes were tightly shut with annoyance and anger, the skin between his eyebrows furrowed with the pressure they were under. As Ishizu leaned closer, his eyes stayed shut. But this didn't deter her as she rested her forehead on his and slid her hands around to the back of his neck. Ishizu waited now, for usually he refused her advances the first time and all she would have to do is try again. But this time was one of the few, glorious occasions where he accepted her initially, pressing his lips roughly to hers and running his fingers through her long dark hair. Ishizu brought her knees up to rest on either side of his legs, her skin pressing against the earth colored leather of the wide chair. One hand rested itself on the small of her back, the other played with her long black locks. Ishizu basked in the moment, it was rare for him to open up like this. But soon it was over, for he pushed her up, rising to his feet. Despite the fact that she was tall, he was taller. Even if by only inches, it was the extra few that made him all the more intimidating. Preparing for the worst, a cold angry rejection like so many times before, her lids slammed shut over her ice blue eyes. A sharp intake of air passed through her lips as his hands wound around each of her upper arms and she was swiftly pulled into another long kiss. Her heart raced and her fingers wound through his short brown hair. Still grasping her forearms tightly, he pushed her backwards. She didn't know where he was moving her too, and she didn't really care. She stumbled a little when the backs of her legs collided with the side of the bed, but she didn't fall. Seto may have a thin figure, but he was strong. Strong enough to hold her up and softly, slowly, lower her until she was laying across the giant king sized bed, her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging over the side. She wrapped a hand around his loosened tie, drawing him over her. Her hands worked swiftly, pulling at the knot of the tie until it came undone. She tossed it in some random direction, hoping that it landed off of the bed for she couldn't see where she was throwing it; all she could see was him. She moved to undo the buttons on his shirt, one by one, and her fingers no longer shook as they had so many years ago when they had first fallen into bed.

It was a memory she now laughed at, but at the time it had been the most nerve racking thing she had ever done. He had been following her for almost two years, but she hadn't known it. He hadn't known how much he really missed her until she was gone, and he didn't realize for a long time that she was the cause of months of lost sleep, that she was why he hadn't been able to focus. It had been Mokuba who had finally brought it up, a year after they had last said goodbye. A year after he had stepped off the boat and she had watched him walk away, thinking that she might never see him again, and not knowing why it upset her. Nobody really gave Mokuba enough credit, yet he was considerably wiser than most. He had been able to solve his elder brother's relationship problem at the age of fourteen. To her, Seto had always been a skeptic, a cold man who cared for nothing but money. But when he had shown up, having traced her all the way to the Museum of Natural History in America, the entire preface had been washed away.

A shiver of pleasure ran up her spine as his right hand undid the knot of the belt on her robe, then slid under the fabric and around her back. He lifted her and she relaxed her arms, letting them fall limply behind so that the smooth cloth could slide off of her. His opposite hand grabbed the silken material and threw it behind him. Her hands once again flew back to him, moving down his chest until they hit his belt. But she never got the chance to undo it, because his hands wrapped around hers, moving them off of him and placing them on the smooth tan skin of her stomach. Ishizu shifted so that her head rested on a pillow while he removed the rest of his clothes. He threw back the covers and climbed on top of her.

/

_Hmm, Kinky. _He thought as he watched the scene before him.

_You're sick, you know that._ So, Rina was regaining her composure. He had thought that after her little display when he had murdered those fools that she would stay quiet. Apparently not.

But that was none of his concern, for she couldn't stop him now. He waited in the shadows of the corner behind the window. The moonlight streaming in made the niche even darker, concealing him from all sight. It also helped that the two of them were involved completely with each other. He should have known that Seto, the skeptic, would end up with his exact opposite, the believer. Oh well. He didn't really care who Seto slept with, just that it was another thing he could exploit against both of them. A smirk crossed Rina's lips as Bakura thought about how easy Ishizu would be to hurt. She had so much regret in her life, it was almost too easy.

He watched the couple in bed, rolling his eyes at a few distinct moans that came from each of them, and waited. Waited until a specific moment, when they were least on their guard. Bakura was a master at knowing when to strike at people so that the fear and horror sank in the most. He considered himself the guru, the king, of pain. And like all masters, he knew patience. To him, injury was an art.

And this specific show of pain required perfect timing. Bakura waited.

He struck when Seto and Ishizu had moved into the afterglow, striding calmly and confidently towards the bed where they lay, looking into each other's eyes; that one moment where everything in the world seemed to click into place as they saw perfection in each other. He pulled out the gun that he had kept with him.

Seto and Ishizu were startled to say the least when the girl sat on the end of their bed.

"Long time no see, Kaiba." The girl sneered.

Embarrassed, but unwilling to say it, of course, Seto pulled the covers higher, trying to pass it off as a nonchalant gesture. But the girl was too smart for that, and smirked at his attempt. But before Seto could become enraged, the girl's eyes shifted to Ishizu. "I don't suppose you remember me, Ishizu?"

"No, I- I've never seen you before." She spluttered, trying to pull the covers up higher around her as well.

"Oh, haven't you? Maybe you remember my host. I would have thought that you would be the first to see the resemblance."

Ishizu's heart skipped a beat at the mention of 'host.' And that's when she saw it. This girl was basically a female version of Ryou Bakura. But it wasn't the girl, or Ryou, who was speaking. "Bakura…" She shivered as the smirk grew wider, relishing in her fear.

"Who?"

Bakura frowned at the fact that Seto had no idea who he was. _Oh well, _thought Bakura, _He'll know soon enough._ So Bakura ignored the remark and went on to cock the gun that was now pointed at Ishizu. He watched Seto, content that his eyes got wide as saucers when he did so. "Now, you're going to listen to me, Ishizu. You're going to get up and go to the closet. You'll put on clothes, and then you are coming with me."

"You can't just take my wife away-"

"Oh, but I think you'll find that I can, especially when I'm the one holding the gun." He smirked toothily; distorting Rina's face and making it look more like his then ever. "But, no need to worry, because I'm going to give her back. You are going to do exactly what I say. Tomorrow, you're going to go to the Domino City Central Park at noon. Oh, and don't call anyone, though I doubt you trust police. If you do…" He looked Ishizu's direction, "Let's just say Ishizu will become more familiar with the afterlife then she'd like."

Seto hung his head. What else was he supposed to do? _It's only until noon, you can do this. Come on, Seto, think! _But he couldn't. Where were all his brilliant plans? His commanding façade? His ability to handle any crisis calmly and collectively?

Ishizu was blushing as she walked naked across the room to the closet, but the tan of her skin helped conceal it. She was unable to think of anything but Bakura. How, how could he have come back? The Pharaoh should have eradicated him from existence long ago! What went wrong? Why did he have to wait so long to come back, when they had finally settled into having normal lives? Why them? Why not Yugi? Or, had he already threatened Yugi?

A thousand troubles raced through her head as she dressed with shaking hands. The only up side to the worry was that it blocked the embarrassment of having Bakura standing right behind her as she dressed. Of course, it helped some that Bakura was in the body of a girl. Ishizu momentarily wondered why this girl looked so much like Bakura. Had Ryou actually gotten married and had a child? Or was it merely some bizarre coincidence?

Ugh! All this thinking was giving Ishizu a major headache. She took a deep breath as she finished dressing; she wore a simple linen dress, though her closet was filled with dozens of other, far fancier ones. One thing she still remembered from living with little money was how to dress practically. She jumped when she felt the cold metal against her neck. "Come now, Ishizu, we haven't got all night."

She swallowed her fear momentarily and in a desperate attempt to appear less afraid she said, "You won't get away with this!"

"Please, like I haven't heard that before!" Bakura sighed and rolled Rina's eyes.

They walked back into the master bedroom to find that Seto had gotten off the bed and pulled on the pants that had been previously lying on the floor. However, Bakura analyzed Seto with his cold, clear wit, and came to the conclusion that he was still very much frazzled, for he had left the fly down and the belt undone. Bakura forced Rina's lips into yet another smirk. He was still in control.

"See you at noon, Kaiba!" Bakura sneered. And with a flourish he pushed Ishizu out the door, which shut tightly behind them.

Seto immediately rushed after in pursuit, throwing open the door and ready to call out to the servants and guards in the house. When he came into the hall he looked both ways, and although it was dark, there was enough light to see clearly in both ways. But Seto stopped short, for despite his best efforts and sharp eyes, he could not deny the truth.

They were gone.

/

The grass was green, the trees swaying gently in the breeze. As he walked along the gravel path that crunched underneath his feet, birds could be heard chirping peacefully in the trees. The day seemed so perfect. Yugi inhaled the sweet scent of the air. It gave him a little more courage and peace of mind as he walked towards the center of the park (There had been a note on the gate, obviously left by Bakura, telling him to go to the big statue in the center of the park). Yes, if there was ever a day for feeling good about yourself, it was today.

But the man who had come here with him seemed not to even notice. Yugi looked back to see Ryou trudging along, looking at the ground. There were still circles under his eyes, and it may have just been the way the light shone through the trees but Yugi swore that Ryou's white locks of hair hung around his head more loosely and lifeless then he had ever seen before. "Come on, Ryou. What's wrong? Bakura's finally going to give Rina back!"

"That's what he _said_." Ryou replied, not even looking up, "But Bakura never holds to his word."

Yugi wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Not only because he was out of cheerful things to say, but because Ryou was right. So he sighed and continued onwards.

They finally came to what they were looking for; the Dueling Statue in the center of the Domino City Park. It was a twenty foot granite structure of a Blue Eyes White Dragon with a deck of Duel Monsters cards in its mouth. Adjacent to the trail that the two had just come from there was another trail that led to another side of the park. As for the statue, Seto Kaiba had had it constructed when he bought the park more than a decade ago.

Yugi looked around, but Bakura was nowhere in sight. Of course, they were fifteen minutes early. Ryou hadn't wanted to take any chances with traffic, even though Yugi had promised him time after time that they would get there on time if they had left a few minutes later as well. But now it seemed as if Ryou didn't even care. Although the dramatic shift in attitude worried Yugi, he didn't pry.

There were two benches; both on opposite sides of the gravel trail that encircled the Blue Eyes statue. But they were angled, so as not to directly face each other, but that they were close enough to have a conversation with the person on the opposite bench. Ryou glanced around, than sighed and with a huff plopped down on the bench to their right, while Yugi simply stared at the statue and got lost in memories.

"Well, if it isn't Yugi Moto himself."

Yugi spun around when he heard the familiar voice. "Kaiba!"

"Brilliant observation, Yugi." He exclaimed in his familiar clod and indifferent voice.

"What…are you doing here?" It took Yugi a moment to form a complete sentence, but seeing an old rival after over twenty years can do that.

"I could ask you the same thing."

They just stared at each other a moment, then Yugi finally sighed, breaking the awkward silence. "Bakura's back. I know you don't believe in all the magic stuff, but it's true! And he's taken over Ryou's daughter's body, and-"

"Wait, you mean to tell me _Ryou's daughter _did this?"

"No, it's Bakura."

"Save your ancient magic for someone who's stupid enough to believe it. As far as I'm concerned, it's this girl's fault."

"Rina didn't do anything."Both Yugi and Seto jumped when they heard the unexpected harshness from Ryou, whom Seto had not even noticed was there.

"Look, I don't care about your child issues. If you want to live in denial, fine with me. But I darn well better get what I came here for."

"And what is that?" Yugi piped up.

Seto opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by yet another familiar voice.

"You're here to duel Yuge again, ain't ya Kaiba?"

"Joey!" Yugi was overflowing with joy to see his friend again. Though they had kept in touch over the years, sending letters every few months to each other, it had still been al long, long time since they had talked face to face.

Joey couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face at the sight of his still-best-friend's big familiar grin. "Oof!" escaped his lips as Yugi collided with him in a frenzied hug. Joey was so unprepared for it that he was knocked backwards a few steps. Both of the men laughed hard.

"Hey, you aren't trying to steal my man, are you Hun?"

"Mai!" Mai laughed as well at Yugi's still apparent excitement at seeing even her.

"Mai Valentine?" spat Kaiba, "As in the duelist from Battle City?"

"That's Mai Wheeler to you." She retorted, standing by Joey's side and giving the disgruntled CEO a look that said, 'You want a piece of this?'

"Figures that Wheeler would fall for someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, guys, come on, now." Cautioned Yugi, trying to mediate the situation. "Let's not get violent."

"Yeah, Yuge's right. Back off before you lose your temper Mai." Joey joked, smiling and pulling gently at her hair.

"What temper?" she shot back, spinning back around to face him. She looked angry, but once she realized he was kidding around she calmed down a little. She still shot sideways glances of loathing at Kaiba, though.

"So, what brings you two here? I thought you moved to New York." Asked Yugi once things were calm again.

Joey frowned. "We did, and we were livin' there quite happily, too. That is, 'till we got this note with a picture of our kids sayin' to be here at noon today. Or else…"

"He threatened you to…"

"Not just us. Our Kids."

"Kat and Maza? Are they alright?"

"For now." Joey shook his head. "I really hate not bein' able to do anythin' but what this creep tells us to. I don't even know who I'm fightin'!"

Yugi swallowed, took a deep breath, then looked Joey in the eye and said, "It's Bakura."

"What?" Joey's eyes immediately flew over to Ryou, who was still sitting dejectedly on the bench at the opposite side of the statue. His eyes narrowed, but before he could go attack Ryou, Yugi spoke up.

"No, not Ryou! Bakura."

Joey looked confused for a minute, then his eyes widened in realization. "He's back."

All Yugi could do was nod.

"How?"

"I don't really know. All I know is that Ryou's daughter somehow ended up with part of the Millennium Ring, and now he's in _her_ body."

It took a minute for Joey and Mai to process all of that, but then Mai finally sighed and uttered, "Poor Ryou."

They all nodded in agreement, except for Kaiba, who had gone to sit on the statue's pedestal.

A few minutes passed with little excitement. Yugi and Joey started off talking about how their lives were going, catching up on what they had forgotten to say to each other in letters and such. But eventually, the conversation turned to negative and worried thoughts about the present. They only looked up from their conversation when they noticed another figure approaching.

At first he was unfamiliar to them, wearing a plain white tank top, rectangular black glasses, and jeans. But as the figure got closer, they could finally recognize him by the familiar locks of platinum blond hair and piercing violet eyes. He was looking at the ground, walking at an even pace towards them but not noticing any of them until he came into the circle of gravel.

Marik looked up, finally noticing the presence of others. He glanced around, neither smiling, nor surprised. After a long, awkward silence, he spoke. "I assume that we're all here for the same reason. Bakura?"They all nodded slowly. Except Ryou, who had looked up for the first time since he had sat down. Their eyes locked briefly, and Ryou's mouth twitched.

Despite his calm appearance, Marik was fighting an inner battle. _Does he know what I almost did to Rina? No, no, he couldn't! There's no way. Unless Bakura told him. But, wouldn't he be angry if he knew? Wouldn't he show it? Should I tell him, just in case? No, not a good idea. At least, not now. And what about our past friendship? I haven't seen him since… Ra, I can't even remember the last time I saw him! Do I make the first move? What's he thinking? _But as Marik watched, Ryou cocked his head and scratched the side of his jaw with his index finger. Marik smiled. This used to be what Ryou would do when he was too tired, depressed, etc., to ask Marik to sit down when Marik found him in bars, nightclubs, or on the streets by himself. All friends have some secret handshake or something, and this was theirs. So, Marik silently went and sat by his once good friend, not making a sound. Not even saying hello.

It was awkward after that. The crew who had gotten there didn't really know what to do, except wait for Bakura. They figured that any attempt to start conversation would be far too uncomfortable, so silence was best.

"You!"

All six of them jumped at the sound of a new voice. One which to Yugi was not entirely unfamiliar. He Gulped. "H-hello, Anzu."

"That's all you can say? 'Hello Anzu'? After everything that's happened between us all you can say is 'Hello Anzu'?"

"Um…"

"Don't you, 'um' me, Yugi Moto!"

"But I-"

"No, I don't want to hear it!"

"Aw, come on, Anzu. We ain't seen each other in years, and you gotta start it by yellin' at him?"

"Stay out of this Joey."

"Now, now, is that any way to treat your long lost friends, Hun?" asked Mai.

Anzu sighed, took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. Then she lifted her head and said, "I'm sorry, your right. This conversation is better left for another time. When we're alone." She glared pointedly at Yugi.

Now, through all of this Yugi's eyes were big as saucers. He hadn't seen Anzu since… the divorce. He… he wanted to ask her about…everything. The kids, how she had been, what she had been doing, everything. Yugi was a little afraid of her reaction, however, and her anger at him didn't help either. He couldn't speak, but as he saw her standing there… he… oh, he didn't know what he wanted. He just knew that even though she was scary now, he still…loved her.

It got quiet again after that. At first, it was just awkward; everyone just sat around, then became restless and got up and paced back and forth, or stood and shuffled their feet (Except Ryou and Marik, of course). They soon noticed, however, that the silence was…different somehow. Was it the tension from being reunited all at once? Or, something else? Something more sinister. As they each glanced around at one another, they knew that everyone could feel it. The tension was so high that they jumped at Ryou's sudden and somewhat annoyed sounding sigh.

"It's the trees, the birds, the wind." Everyone looked at him quizzically, not knowing what he meant by the rather out of place statement. His face was in his hands, and he was tense, like he was in a thrilling horror movie on the edge of his seat. "The other people in the park, the toll of the big clock. We can't hear any of it." He looked up at them all, who gazed around, suddenly realizing that Ryou was right. "I can't believe none of you picked up on it before." He shook his head.

"What does it mean?" Yugi asked timidly.

Ryou sat up straight for the first time since they were there. His suddenly cold, possibly angry, chocolate eyes pierced Yugi's soft purple irises. "He's here."

"Right you are, my dear old host." Everyone whipped around to see a girl who bore a striking resemblance to Ryou leaning against the dragon statue's belly. They had not realized until then that they had moved closer together subconsciously while they paced and shuffled in the silence. They were now all standing around Ryou and Marik by the Park bench, though they had no idea why. Even Kaiba had moved to join them.

"Bakura!" Yugi cried. He wasn't sure why, though. Most likely a habit left over from their first days of fighting in their youth.

"Eh, you sure this is Bakura, Yuge?" Joey whispered in his friend's ear as he studied the girl in front of him. Sure she looked like Bakura, but it was still hard for him to wrap his head around Bakura being a girl.

Yugi didn't even reply, just shot his friend a look that said _really, Joey? Really?_

Ignoring the remark, Bakura chuckled darkly. "I can see that you have all done as I asked." It was weird for most of them to see her, him, it. Especially those who hadn't been visited by Bakura, for they had no grasp on the fact that there was actually a man inside her.

"Look, I don't care what business you have with these losers, but I kept my part of the bargain. Now what about you?" Seto Kaiba jumped at the chance to be able to get his wife back and get out before more weird stuff started happening. But what he would never be able to accept was that he would always be involved in this weird stuff. And it had only just begun.

"All in good time, Kaiba. But first, please wait your turn. There are others besides you here." The false politeness that dripped from her mouth was almost repulsive. She turned her eyes to the rest of those she had gathered and held them in her icy gaze. "Hmm," Bakura mused, "Who's first?"

Immediately everyone started talking. Either they were demanding to be first, arguing amongst themselves in the process, or they were worrying over what was going to happen next.

Bakura gazed at his work and internally congratulated himself for once again sending this crew of idiots into a confused mess of emotions. The only idiot not freaking out was Ryou. Although Bakura kept a plastered smirk on Rina's face, inside her soul room he was scowling and glaring at Ryou. _Why don't you ever just do what I say the first time?_ Bakura had hoped that by stealing his daughter it would force Bakura to show some sort of anguish and childish despair, as his peers were doing that very second. Bakura glanced behind him to the bed where Rina was sitting cross-legged. _At least she fears me._ But it seemed as if she had forgotten her fear momentarily, for though she pointed her gaze in his direction she was looking over his shoulder, and through the mirror making eye contact with her father, who was glaring daggers directly at his the thing that was in control of his daughter's body. _Yeah, go dad!_ The girl all but screamed in her head. Bakura could hear her though, and after letting out a growl of annoyance went back to his work with the crowd.

Eventually Yugi, being the moderator, had gotten everyone settled down, again convincing them all to follow his leadership. He spoke on everyone's behalf. "Alright Bakura, We've all done what you want, now tell us what it is you want us to know and then leave us alone!"

"And give me back my wife." Added Kaiba.

"Alright Kaiba, if you're so impatient." The girl under Bakura's control shrugged. She reached behind the statue and pulled out Ishizu, who was tied at the wrists and had duct tape over her mouth. Her eyes darted around the group that Bakura had gathered here, and noticed that the only one who was not staring at her was her brother, Marik. His gaze had dropped and he looked almost in pain. The girl shoved Ishizu over with a surprising amount of force for being so much shorter than the woman. But, that's what being inhabited by a spirit did to people.

Kaiba caught her as she stumbled over. "Are you alright?" She nodded. He looked at his wife's captor and scowled even harder then he usually scowled. "We're leaving. Now" he all but spat at the girl.

"Not just yet. None of you are going anywhere."

They erupted into shouts of anger and dismay. The words 'you promised were heard from almost everyone's mouth at some point. Almost everyone, accept for Ryou. He simply sighed. _I knew it wouldn't be this easy._ After a while it got silent again as it really soaked in what they were caught up in.

"What is it that you want us to do Bakura?" Ryou's voice cut through the silence like a knife. Most of them were startled simply by the tone of strength and resentment in Ryou's voice. To them, he had always been a weak and gentle person. Now his eyes filled with fire.

Rina's lips pulled back in Bakura's famous smirk making them shiver. "I want you to wake Atem."


	5. Anzu

**Chapter 5: Anzu**

_Come little children now follow me home_

_Not a one of you need worry._

_Come little children the time's come to roam_

_Follow me now, please hurry._

/

Anzu sat on the edge of her hotel bed, frowning. There was so much to worry about. Her kids, whom she had left in the care of a very competent baby sitter (whose father just happened to be a Domino policeman, you can't take chances when it comes to the safety of your children), but that seemed like a minor issue compared to Bakura's demand. Wake Atem? It wasn't possible!

Though they had argued with Bakura about it, it was all in vain. It was that or get their lives systematically destroyed, piece by piece. He had set a 'due date' for when they were to ship off to Egypt, and had left them without another word. It had taken the group a while to settle down, but once they did a plan was hatched. Yugi took the lead as he had so many years before, and they had decided under 'mutual agreement' (which to Anzu meant everyone agreeing with whatever Yugi said was best)that they would stay in a hotel together in Downtown Domino City until the set date when they would all go to Egypt, under Seto Kaiba's funding, of course. At first he had refused to have any part in it, but with a little coaxing from Yugi (and Ishizu) he begrudgingly agreed.

Yugi. It had been so long since she had seen him, and now all of the sudden there he was, back in her life again. And it didn't help that they were about to wake Atem. She shook her head, feeling guilty just thinking about the old spirit.

She jumped as a faint knock on the door startled her out of her deep thought. "Uh, come in." She stammered. Her already beating heart sped up when she saw the oh so familiar spiky hair slide through the door frame. Quietly, so as not to arouse the others who were obviously already sleeping, he shut the door behind him. The carpet swished slightly underneath his feet as he shifted the side to side, trying to come to a decision on what to do with himself. Anzu just stared back at him.

They stayed like that for a while, Yugi feeling too awkward to start conversation and Anzu feeling too hostile to say anything to him. Deep down, she knew she wasn't really mad at him, but herself. She still kept up the annoyed façade, however. Finally she sighed, having lost her inner battle to stay cold and angry, and patted the space next to her "Just sit." He obeyed, despite her unwelcoming tone.

It was awkward again for a moment, then Yugi broke the silence. "I'm sorry for the way things turned out."

She snorted with obvious disbelief. "No you're not."

"How do you know?"

The hint of spite in his voice caught her off guard, and she whipped her head around to look at him. He was still looking at the ground, but hit eyebrows were pulled together in frustration. Anzu wasn't used to Yugi being even the slighted bit annoyed, and for some reason this angered her. She recovered from her shock and shot back, "I was your wife for sixteen years, and there are some things I just know."

"I don't think you do."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's just an excuse."

"An excuse for what?"

"For being wrong."

"Oh, I see. Yugi, the big bad King of Games can't possibly be wrong about _someone else's_ feelings! No, he knows everything!"

To that he said nothing, only sighed. He mumbled something that she didn't quite catch.

"Excuse me?" she demanded.

"I said, I'm sorry I'm not Atem." This caught her completely off guard, to the point of losing her angry demeanor entirely. She couldn't see his eyes, for they were covered by his wild lightning bolt bangs, but she could see the frown upon his lips.

"Wh…What?" Anzu whispered.

"I know that it was really him you wanted, not me. I pretended for years to believe that you and he were never… involved…but the evidence was there all along. I should have just faded away when I had the chance…" his voice broke on the last word, and Anzu could see the tears run down his face.

To this, Anzu had nothing to say. It was true that she hadn't really thought about Yugi as more than a friend until he had started acting different. And then they had realized that it was a spirit, not Yugi whose actions she had fallen for ever so slightly. But, once Atem had left, she had really fallen for Yugi. His experience with Atem had left him more confident, collected, and even braver then he was before.

She hadn't left him because she hadn't loved him. She left because she thought he didn't love her.

"Yugi, no."

He stiffened, not expecting this to be her answer.

"I may have loved him first," she admitted, "but I love _you _now. More than I ever loved him."

He turned to look at her, not quite believing her, but she was soon to convince him otherwise. Without giving him time to think, and barely thinking herself, she leaned in quickly and kissed him. As their lips pressed together, they soon forgot all of the animosity that had built between them, and before they really knew what was happening they had fallen into bed together for the first time in forever.

/

The hallways were not silent tonight.

For Marik, it was a night like any other. He was unable to sleep, so he trudged silently through the halls, trying to find something to occupy his mind with that was anything but the current situation. Naturally, he was used to the quietness of the dark expanse. However, tonight there was a small noise at the end of his hearing that kept distracting him. Faint moans and the faint uttering of pleasure that those who spoke them expected to be private drifted through the air. But in their state of bliss they neglected to keep their voices down enough, and the pleasured noises bothered Marik.

As he passed the doors, he could name off whom was with whom inside. Joey and Mai in this one, Being obnoxiously loud and not caring at all. Anzu and Yugi in that one, trying to be quiet but slipping up every now and then with a loud moan. He paused in front of their door only a moment, contemplating how they had barely spoken all that day, Anzu had even refused to sit next to him in the ride over, and now they were obviously over years of stress and hurt.

But what stopped him in his tracks, what froze him to the soft carpet and made him a statue, was when he heard his sister utter, "mmmSeto." In an instant all of his feelings of loneliness and loss rushed back to him. He felt slightly sick. It was all he could do to force himself away from the room his sister and her husband were in. Marik felt better once away, but still not satisfied. After a while more of roaming, he figured it best to go back to his room and at least lie on his bed, even if he knew he wasn't going to sleep.

When he flicked the lights on in his room he grunted, for the sudden change in illumination hurt his eyes slightly. After his sight had adjusted, he noticed for the first time the bottle on his bed containing a dark liquid that was very familiar. He crossed the space, and picked up the wine. Attached to the neck of the bottle by some fancy ribbon was a note that read _To Mr. Kiaba's esteemed guest, sincerely the Staff._

It was really a shame to let this go to waste, and he was feeling down anyway, so Marik decided to have some. Or, maybe all of it. He looked at the brand and year, and his face fell slightly. It had to be a coincidence; there was no way the staff could have known…

Coincidence or not, Marik knew that there was no way he could drink this now. At lease, he couldn't drink it alone. He flicked off the lights when he left, alcohol in hand, to find the one person he needed to see.

/

Ryou sat in the 'living room' that they all shared. This particular hotel's top floor had been made specifically so that Seto could have a large amount of guests in separate rooms and they could all talk to each other in one shared living room area. It was quite comfortable, but Ryou was ill at ease despite this. He frowned, thinking more of the bad thoughts that usually plagued his mind these days. But he did count his few comforts. He was sitting in a chair, for instance. He propped his face up on one hand, his elbow resting on the table beside him. He jumped a little when the bottle of alcohol was placed in front of his face. He sat up and looked at who had set it there, and smiled weakly when he saw who it was. "Marik." He greeted.

"Ryou." He nodded to the bottle. "You want to share it with me?"

"Sure, thanks."

It was hard to believe from the staleness of their conversation that that two had once been good friends. They had bonded over their mutual loneliness and torment of being possessed by evil demons. Ryou popped the cork out and looked at the label on the wine. "Hmm, good year."

"Don't give me that, you and I both know that this is your favorite." Marik still knew him after all this time. Perhaps 'good friends' was an understatement. For three years they were the best of friends, almost inseparable, and one of their favorite things to do was drink. Drown their troubles and wake up with a hangover so bad that you couldn't get out of bed until noon.

"You never forgot?" Ryou cocked and eyebrow.

"I'd never forget my only friend."

"Don't give me that, you had more friends than I ever did."

Marik shook his head as he motioned for the bottle and took a swig. "It only seemed that way."

Ryou blinked. "What's on your soul?"

Marik chuckled at their old inside joke. The phrase had come from the fact that they both had someone controlling their minds, and their minds weren't really theirs. Their souls, however, could never be taken away from them. The feelings in their souls were _theirs_, no matter what anyone else said.

"They all left." He passed Ryou the bottle.

"Who?"

"Everyone."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"Ishizu left me first. Ran off with the 'love of her life' Kaiba." He frowned and motioned for the bottle, which Ryou readily handed to him. He sighed and looked at the bottle, swirling the dark liquid inside.

"What's so wrong with love?"

"It wasn't that. I felt good for her that she had found someone at least halfway worthwhile." They both laughed half heartedly at that. "No, it was that… she never spoke to me again. Not even a wedding invitation. It was like she had just dropped off the face of the planet. It didn't even know that they were engaged until I saw the wedding announcement in the paper. _The newspaper_, Ryou! How pathetic is that?" he didn't wait for an answer before continuing, but even so, Ryou had no answer to give. "And then Odion left. At least I had seen Ishizu's desertion coming. He was just there one day when I went to work, and when I came home…" he couldn't say. It was too painful. He gathered his strength with a deep breath and another sip of wine. "For the first time in my life," he continued slowly, "I was alone. Completely and utterly alone."

"Not true."

This caught Marik off guard. He looked up at his white haired companion, slightly shocked. "What?"

"I said, not true. This kind of thing, it's what friends are for Marik. I told you, you could always come to me."

"It was years after we last saw each other…"

"Doesn't matter. I would have come to you."

It was quiet as they gazed at each other for a minute, than Marik smiled. "I'll remember that."

Both were silent again for a minute, the wine passed back to Ryou. Then, with a half snort, half chuckle, Ryou said, "What about Yugi's gang?"

They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Like Yugi and his friends would really help! Both Marik and Ryou knew that they were never trusted again by _them_. Sure, they had tried, but both boys could tell right from the beginning that it was never going to work for them. They always received the little sideways glance that said, 'I'm still not sure if you're going to go crazy psycho and murder me right now.'

It took a while for them to calm down after that one, but eventually they got back into their thoughtful, depressed mode. "Still," Ryou said, seemingly out of the blue, "It's better to have someone leave then be taken from you."

So it came back to Rina again. Marik couldn't help but wonder if he would be as faithful as Ryou, if he had gotten married and had a child. Yes, he supposed. _I believe that I would go to the ends of the earth for someone I loved. Isn't that what family is supposed to do?_

"I met Rina."

"That _thing_ inside her is not my daughter."

"No, not Bakura. Rina."

Ryou turned to look at him so fast he almost spilled the wine. "What? Bakura let her out?" Why, how?"

At this Marik frowned. What was he going to say, 'I met her because I almost slept with her'? No, no, no. If he knew, Ryou would kill him. Literally.

"He, um, let her out after he was done telling me… to come here..."

Ryou seemed not to notice the lie, probably because he was getting drunk. Marik was just thankful that he was still sober enough to form a lie. Ryou smiled and said, "She's great, isn't she?"

Marik nodded. "Yeah, really nice. If I had a daughter, I would hope she would be like Rina."

Ryou gave Marik a friendly punch on the shoulder, though he actually hit Marik harder then he meant to because the alcohol was making him loose his senses.

They continued in this way until they ran out of wine, then stumbled back to their respective rooms, drunk as could be, before passing out on the nearest piece of furniture.

/

That morning, no one was on time for breakfast.

All the men had five o'clock shadow, for none of them were awake enough to shave that morning. Marik and Bakura both stumbled in late with a headache from their hangovers. Seto and Joey were sleepy but satisfied, Joey sporting a big goofy grin while Seto was simply more agreeable than usual, though he never smiled. Yugi was practically dizzy with joy over his night.

The women had tried to comb out their bed heads and cover the dark spots under their eyes with makeup, but it did little good for they still looked half dead.

They greeted each other groggily, stumbling about to get breakfast or slumping into chairs around the breakfast table in the first floor dining area. It was mostly quiet afterwards, with the couples shooting each other bashful looks, the kind of glance that people exchange when sharing an inside joke.

When they seated themselves at the table, the couples sat together, attempting discretion. It was not necessary, however, for the only ones not playing footsie under the table or letting their hands wander into their partner's lap were Marik and Ryou. They were holding their water glasses to their heads to try and calm the throbbing from their hangovers.

/

Rina was restless. She moved about her soul room endlessly, unless she was sleeping. Her feet padded a continuous disjointed rhythm on the hard white floor. Often, she glanced sideways at Bakura, wondering about him, how someone could just be so evil.

At the moment, she could hear nothing from him, and that unsettled her. It was unusual for Bakura not to make some kind of noise, laugh evilly or sneer at her. Now he didn't even move.

Curious by nature, she slowly crept closer behind him. He was sitting cross legged in front of the mirror, and she could see the faint reflection on the surface of the glass that separated the two of them from the scenery behind it.

"Bakura?" she managed to whisper.

She got no reply. His eyes were closed and his head drooped slightly, almost as if he was sleeping. This made her slightly worried, for he had not yet slept the entire time he had been inside her head. Tentatively, she stretched out a hand.

"Bakura?" She asked again, a little louder. Still, he did not stir. Her outstretched hand trembled slightly as she placed it lightly on his bare shoulder.

Her vision flashed white, and suddenly she was not standing in her soul room anymore. There was sand beneath her feet, and the night air around her was hot with fire coming from somewhere behind her. Rina spun around and faced a burning city.

The place was ancient, that much she could tell. It had no modern architecture, and why it was in the middle of a desert, she didn't know. Thankfully, she was atop a small hill overlooking the place, and was not close enough for the flames to touch. But the burning city was not what frightened her about the place.

She shivered when she heard them. The screams echoed around her, penetrating into her very bones. Women, children, men, teens, babies, all of them; people from every walk of life were in that burning city. Why weren't they leaving? Why were there no others where Rina was standing? Surely some, if not most, of the townspeople could have escaped the flames. Where were the survivors? There must have been someone around to help!

Before she could move, to help or to run, she heard and icy voice from behind her, one she was terrified of. "What are you doing here?" he hissed.

Rina stuttered, attempting speech, but she could not form a complete sentence, or even a complete word, for that matter.

"Get out." He spit flatly.

"I don't know how." She half whispered, half mumbled, and half cried.

He sighed heavily, angry and exasperated. Rina cried out when he wrapped his fingers into her arm and yanked.

And just like that it was all gone.

She was standing in front of the mirror in her soul room once more, and she sighed in relief. Until she remembered whom she had pissed off. She gulped and stammered again. "Bakura…I'm…I'm sorry." Her voice got smaller and meeker with every word.

"Yes, you are." She gulped down a whimper at the poison in his voice as he advanced on her.

/

A few days later, Marik snapped.

He had had it with being so close to Ishizu and her betrayal. The emotional pressure built up inside him, and it had to spill out sometime or another.

He found her walking alone in the hallway, when Seto had gone off to take care of some business with the Hotel.

She was surprised to see him to say the least. "Marik!" she exclaimed in surprise when he blocked her way.

"We need to talk." He said. His frown made her think this was not going to be a pleasant talk. But that was fine; she wanted to give him a piece of her mind and much as he did.

She pulled him into her room, and then spun on him. "What?" she asked slightly annoyed.

Marik just shook his head in disappointment. "I can't believe you."

"Excuse me?"

"How could you be so calm? After what you did?"

"You're one to talk."

"You're so pretentious." His voice began rising in volume with every word. "To act like you're the one who got hurt, after what you did to me.

"If anything, you should be apologizing to me! What have I ever done to you?" Her voice rose as well, an angry blush growing on her face.

"You left me!" he spat.

"You didn't come to my wedding!" She yelled back.

"I would have if you had invited me!" his voice was so laud now that it echoed off the walls of the room.

At this comment she deflated, her voice returning to its normal volume. "What?"

"Don't act like that! You never asked me to come, so I did what you wanted and stayed away. Don't mock me through your false innocence!"

She blinked and sat down on the bed. She was quiet for a moment, and then she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "I did invite you." She whispered.

"I'm almost inclined to believe you." He scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Marik…" she shook her head. "I made your invitation with my own hands." At this Ishizu went over to her suitcase, rummaged around a bit, and pulled out an envelope, perfectly preserved.

Marik's brow furrowed as she handed it to him. It had his name on the front, in beautiful calligraphy. He flipped it over, and saw that it had been opened. He lifted the flap, and gently removed what was inside.

It was a wedding invitation. The outside looked plain enough, white paper with _You're Invited _in gold leaf ink. With shaking hands, Marik opened it. The inside was a collage, made up of all of their memories. The photos that made it up ranged from just after battle city to the last summer they spent together before they split. When he saw the words _I love you little brother. Will you be our best man?_ Scrawled at the bottom in Ishizu's writing, he staggered backwards and fell down into the nearest chair. He ran a hand through his hair, than looked up to his sister. By this time, they were both crying.

He sprang out of his chair and embraced his sister, and she hugged him back just as tightly. "How did this happen?" she whispered after a while.

"Odion told me that you never invited us." He was able to say after a few deep breaths.

"Odion?" she pulled away, slightly startled by her own epiphany. "He told me you didn't want to come."

"What?"

"I gave him his invitation and yours. The next time I saw him, it was the day of the wedding, and he told me you refused to come."

Marik's brow furrowed in anger, "He told me you didn't want us to come."

They stared at each other for a while, not sure what to make of this revelation. Eventually Ishizu sighed. "I never thought the loss of my Millennium Item would leave me so blind."

Marik had nothing to say. He simply embraced her again.

For a while they cried, for their loss, idiocy, and many other things. When they came out of the room, everyone was surprised to find that they were jabbering on like they hadn't lost any time at all. The stress relief made everyone a little happier.

But the happiness was, sadly, soon to fade. They had a job to do, as uplifting as their respective reunions might be.


End file.
